


Happy Accidents

by bioticfox (ayambik)



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: M/M, Multi, Venko, eventual mShenga, eventual poly - Freeform, sending messages to the wrong person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-08-01 19:12:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16290185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayambik/pseuds/bioticfox
Summary: ser·en·dip·i·ty/ˌserənˈdipədē/nounnoun: serendipity; plural noun: serendipitiesthe occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.Kaidan and James try something new, but when things go awry, can they build something stronger with the help of one John Shepard?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is finally here! I started writing this ... maybe a year ago now. It's been a long time in the making. It started out as a prompt that I thought I could write a short 1k for, and 10k later we finally got to the prompt itself. Ooooops?
> 
> Thank you so much to Bard for absolutely everything! The beta-ing, the hand holding, the encouragement, and the general being awesome. I love you!

The first time was a genuine mistake. Kaidan lounged back in his chair, breathing in the peace and tranquility of the observation deck. He was thankful; a corner of quiet seemed a rare thing to find during the war. Rarer still that the galaxy's second human Spectre had a night off to enjoy it. The taste of whiskey sat heavy on his tongue and he savoured the feeling, each slow sip spreading warmth through his limbs. He just wished he weren’t drinking it alone. 

Earlier that afternoon he'd tentatively approached Vega, knowing James was always up for a night of casual fun if their schedules aligned… and if their  _ casual fun _ ended up with their clothes on the floor and a stumble to the nearest bed, well, at least they enjoyed themselves thoroughly every time. Tonight, however, the cards were not in their favour.

“Sorry, Blue,” Vega said, when Kaidan had caught him alone. “Expecting an overdue weapons shipment.  _ Seriously _ overdue. Shepard needs it logged and catalogued pronto; me and Steve are going to be down here all night sorting out that mess…”

"That's too bad, I'd been looking forward to a few... drinks."

James snorted and pressed forward, pushing Kaidan flush against the workbench. The cool metal dug into his lower back, and the warmth of James’ hands bracketing his hips seared into his skin. James' lips hovered just shy for a moment before he lent in to press lightly against Kaidan’s own.

“Well, good to know I haven’t lost my appeal,” Kaidan huffed when James pulled away, though every inch of him lingered, the two of them barely separating more than necessary to end the kiss. 

“No shit, Blue. You know I’d rather be spending the night with you. Last time, well… I’ve been thinking about last time a lot.” James’ lips tugged up into a half smirk, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. “You know, maybe you can make my night better after all…”

“I’m not blowing you under the table, James.” Kaidan rolled his eyes, even as a smirk of his own spread across his face. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

“Not what I had in mind.” James grabbed Kaidan’s shirt with one hand, closing the distance again with a kiss harder, rougher and more insistent. Kaidan’s chest rose and fell under James’ palm and he pulled back with a bite to Kaidan’s lower lip, soothing it over with a final caress of tongue. “I’ll be down here, working my ass off. You’ll be upstairs all comfortable and relaxed. Maybe you can send me some photos to get me through the night. Let me know what I’m missing out on, you know?” 

“Uh-huh.” Kaidan ran his hands up James’ arms, light, teasing touches that he knew drove the other man crazy, contemplating the request. It worked. James eyes lidded and he wet his lower lip with his tongue, goosebumps appearing over his skin with a shiver. “And what would these photos be of, exactly?” Kaidan asked.

“Hmm,” James’ hand roamed further down Kaidan’s chest, sliding over his abs and coming to a halt just above the buckle of his belt, the other still pressing into Kaidan’s side. A pen rolled to the floor with a shift of Kaidan’s hips, but neither man had cared. “Use your imagination, Blue.”

And so here Kaidan sat, sipping at his whiskey and gazing out at the stars. Not a bad way to spend the evening, just not what he'd been hoping for. He rotated his glass slowly, ice softly clinking against the sides as the amber liquid swirled with the motion. It wasn’t something they’d done before, sending photos, but he trusted James to be discreet, and the whiskey he'd drunk so far made him bold.

He started with that, raising his omni-tool to snap a picture of the drink in his hand. He leant back to capture most of his torso in the shot, focusing in on strong fingers wrapped around the glass resting on his stomach. The Lieutenant’s name appeared at the top of his ‘recent contacts’ list, and a simple tap had the image on its way. 

He didn’t have to wait long for a response. Kaidan knew the feeling. Cataloguing inventory was dull, but cataloguing inventory over a night shift was mind-numbing; James would be glad for the distraction.

‘Sorry I’m not there, I would if I could,’ James’ reply started. 'I have a question though -  _ Why are you still wearing clothes?’ _

Kaidan huffed a laugh under his breath. James knew how to get right to the point. Placing his whiskey on the table, he slid his hand up to the collar of his shirt, undoing just the top few buttons. He pulled the fabric to one side, before tapping away at his omni-tool again. The second picture James received featured just a few inches of skin.

‘Tease,’ came the reply.

'If you were here it would be quicker, as  _ I’d _ be drinking the whiskey, and  _ you’d _ be removing my clothes.’

‘I don’t get any whiskey?’

‘Not tonight, Vega. Try your luck another time.’ Kaidan peeled himself out of his shirt, the fabric sliding across skin sending shivers down his spine as he exposed his torso to the cool air. He poured himself another glass to illustrate his point and snapped the shot, fingers automatically finding James’ name at the top of the list, and hoping James would appreciate the shirtlessness. He started to play with the leather of his belt as he waited for the response, inching the buckle open with his free hand.

‘Here is the report from the last on-world mission. Good job to you both.’ Kaidan frowned at the abrupt turn to their evening, James’ name still glowing at the top of the screen. The hand on his belt stilled, hovering just shy of removing it completely. After a moment blinking at his omni-tool, the fog lifted: the message was from  _ Shepard _ , to the group channel the three of them used for official communication. The channel, listed as ‘James Vega, Kaidan Alenko, Shepard’ in Kaidan’s display, contained a mix of mission briefs and reports, with the occasional non-urgent command from their fearless leader. 

Kaidan skimmed the report briefly, already relaxing back down into his chair. Work could wait. For him at least. James was probably already reading the report in depth. He sipped his drink and rolled his eyes; Shepard had the worst timing.

Canting his pelvis, he tilted to shimmy his fatigues to sit low on his hips. _ Very low.  _ He grazed his hand over the fresh strip of skin, stomach quivering when fingertips dipped a fraction under the waistband.

_ ‘This should get James’ attention again,’ _ he thought, taking the photo.

‘Wish you were here, Vega,’ he typed and sent the image on its way. The ice in his whiskey began to melt, and a drop of condensation rolled down the outside of the glass, settling on his hand. A beep from his omni-tool signalled the response.

‘God, Blue. I wish I were there too.’

Kaidan smirked and brought his fingers to his mouth, licking away the gathered moisture, the heat of his own tongue a stark contrast to the icy liquid. A second beep came, and Kaidan’s smirk widened. Teasing James was always fun, even if he’d prefer him here in the flesh. He glanced down at the latest reply and froze, all the colour fleeing from his face.

‘Major, I suggest you stop harassing soldiers who are meant to be working. We’ll talk about this in the morning.’

It was from Shepard. Commander of the Normandy and Kaidan’s current CO  _ John Shepard _ replied because Kaidan had sent the latest image from his photographic strip tease to the  _ wrong channel. _ To James’ and Kaidan’s work channel with  _ Commander John Shepard _ .

He topped up his whiskey and downed it in one go.

Fuck.

 

-

 

The next day James shifted his weight side to side, shuffling his feet outside Shepard’s quarters, before haltingly lifting his hand to knock. He’d woken up mid-morning, with an impressive 6 hours sleep behind him, considering he’d been tossing and turning through the night. Fortunately, the cataloguing hadn't taken half as long as he’d feared, despite a good twenty minutes after the  _ incident _ spent alternating between burying his head in his hands and face planting into the desk, trying to become one with its surface. Steve had been very confused. James had not enlightened him.

He finally squared his shoulders and entered the room, to find Shepard typing away in the small alcove-turned-office. The soft sounds of Shepard’s fingers mixed with the hum from the aquarium to create a disjointed soundtrack that did nothing to ease the frantic beating of James’ heart. He didn’t want to leave the Normandy. He wanted to stay and fight. Kaidan didn’t send the photo to the wrong channel on purpose, he knew that, but goddamnit, James was the one going to suffer the consequences. He was lower ranking, not as experienced, didn’t have as much history with Shepard... If Shepard transferred one of them to a different post because they were breaking regs, it was going to be James.

“Lieutenant, thanks for coming up. I’m assuming you know why I called you in here?” Shepard turned in his seat, sharp blue eyes falling on James and boring into him better than any armour piercing ammo ever had done. James’ stomach dropped. This was it.

“Yes sir. Major Alenko accidentally used the work channel for something he shouldn’t.”

“Yes.” Shepard’s stare only seemed to get harder, rooting James to the spot. “We have strict anti-harassment regulations in the Alliance, and I intend to follow them, but Lieutenant, I need to hear it from you. Your name doesn’t have to be involved if you don’t want, but if Major Alenko is in any way making unwanted advances-”

“No!” James blurted, eyes wide as he gaped at his CO. “God no, that’s not- He didn’t do anythi- Oh hell.” If he weren’t standing at attention, he’d be pacing. Shepard had it all wrong; James had been  _ more _ than eager during all his and Kaidan’s activities. He took a deep breath and exhaled in one go. “They weren’t unwanted. His advances, I mean. And the photos. I asked him to send them.”

Shepard leant back in his chair, a small frown appearing during James’ outburst, smoothing away the instant he finished. The Alliance had taught James better than to fidget under scrutiny, but James sure felt the urge to shift under Shepard’s penetrating gaze.

“If you’re involved in a romantic relationship with a direct superior, then that-”

“No, not that either, sir,” James interrupted. Again. Hell, if he was going down, he was going down swinging. “I mean, it’s not romantic. We get together sometimes, that’s all. Not often, but it happens. It’s just... blowing off steam. Just for fun.” He cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. Talking about his sex life with his Commanding Officer hadn’t been something he’d prepared for.

Shepard seemed to share none of the discomfort; the man was as stoic as ever as he watched James trying not to squirm, assessing the truth in James’ statement.

“Alright,” he began slowly. “I’ll take your word for it. It’s technically against regs, but I’m not one to judge my crew’s recreational activities, not with everything we’re risking each day.” He finally looked away, though James still felt the tension crawling along his skin. “I can understand that people might turn to each other to keep their sanity in all of this.

“Just keep it discreet,” Shepard continued, glancing back and raising an eyebrow. “And by discreet I mean _ don’t  _ accidentally send photographic evidence to other crew members. Pass that on to Alenko.”

“Yes sir,” James nodded, not daring to breathe a sigh of relief. “It won’t happen again.”


	2. Chapter 2

The second time was due to exhaustion and time zones. Jet lag always hit James hard, and the last few days hit even harder, with one mission after the other, hardly any respite. Not to say that he didn’t appreciate the action, he did, and he stood a little straighter each time Shepard selected him for the ground team, but he had never been more grateful for mandatory shore leave in his life. The exhaustion had seeped into his bones and through every joint and muscle. A bit of R&R was exactly what the doctor ordered.

The skycar pulled up outside a sleek looking hotel, clean lines standing tall above the smooth concrete, and hazy reflections blending together amid an overabundance of glass. James squinted up at the building. The Alliance didn’t usually spring for the upmarket places to bunk, but he guessed there weren’t a lot of holiday locations left standing in this goddamn war. Shepard’s name probably had something to do with it too. James pulled up his bag from the backseat of the taxi, over-tipped the driver with a lazy wave of his credit-chit, and shuffled his way inside.

The polished stone tile reception desk dwarfed the petite woman sat behind it and the polished marble floor did nothing to muffle James’ rucksack when he let it thud to the ground, the sound echoing through the cavernous lobby. The woman shot him a tight-lipped look. He didn't have the energy to pick his pack back up, but he gave her his best sheepish expression, the one that had seen him through his childhood days of getting muddy with his Uncle's dogs, or losing track of time and missing his curfew. Her gaze sharpened over his scruffed appearance and she huffed a sigh, ending her phone call with the extension of a single long manicured finger. He assumed, then, that the tight bun in her hair also came with a stick up her ass. Probably from having to deal with so many tired and grumpy marines, hardly up to the standards of her usual clientele, but he could hardly be blamed for her attitude.

After finally managing to wrestle through the check in process, a task made more difficult by her general disposition and his exhaustion, he had the key his very own room with a view, with large french windows opened up to salty sea air. The Normandy’s night cycle was in full swing, but the city outside had just begun to settle under a blanketed pink and blue tinge from several neon bar signs, lighting up in preparation for the post-work Friday night crowds. There had been intriguing rumours about one of the hole-in-the-wall pubs nearby having a hefty selection of genuine Earth ales, and James was very much looking forward to testing the truth of it on his tongue. There was just one problem: he was so damn tired.

Blinking fuzzily, he let his rucksack fall off his shoulders for a second time, to rest at the foot of the large queen-sized bed. On top of the mattress lay a plush, quilted comforter that was downy soft when James ran his hand over the surface. He wondered what it would be like to faceplant straight on top of it, and if it would be as heavenly as he imagined. 

‘Fuck it,’ he thought, clambering onto the sheets, ‘just five minutes rest. Then time to join the party.’

It was like being wrapped up in a warm embrace, fond memories of Sunday mornings, and dozing in soft sunlight. It was perfect. Best bed ever. He sunk deeper into the quilt, muscles slowly turning to jelly. The holo-clock on the side cabinet flashed at him and he stared at the orange display. He didn’t really want to waste his time in this paradise seafront town sleeping. There were things to do, places to explore, and beers to drink, but what little energy he had was being sapped at lightspeed through the cushiony softness of the cotton cloud he lay on. There were still a few hours still before dark, he reasoned, and that’s when the real party would start. A short nap wouldn’t hurt. And then, afterwards, maybe he could meet up with Alenko, and they could have some  _ real _ fun. He knew the Major was in the city somewhere, and although he didn’t know the other man’s plans for the night, he’d never miss an opportunity to get together if he could. Especially if it meant he could spend some time ogling the sculpted perfection that was Kaidan Alenko’s ass. 

With some effort, James managed to roll himself onto his back for better access to his omni-tool, his eyes getting heavier and heavier by the minute. 

‘Gonna grab a quick power nap,’ he typed, pausing to correct a few typos - a result of his sluggish state. He raised his omni-tool to take a quick photo, and pulled the hem of his shirt upwards, showing as much of his abs and chest as he could without actually having to remove clothing. He did not have the energy for that. Biting his lip between his teeth, he rubbed the pad of his thumb over his nipple and looked directly at the camera. ‘Join me later, Major, for a quick drink?’ 

Before he finally nodded off he scrolled his contacts to find Kaidan’s name, and with his eyes blurring and limbs loose and relaxed, he pressed send and slipped into sleep.

 

-

 

Waking up happened in stages. There was a vague beeping somewhere in the room but it didn’t register as his alarm, so he drifted in and out of sleep for a few more moments. He was warm and rested, the nap having taken the edge off the exhaustion. The night was young and he could definitely spend the rest of it nursing a few rounds in one of the louder bars, or alternatively wrapped up in the strong embrace of a certain Spectre. Maybe if he was lucky he’d get to do both.

The beeping, he now realised, was the standard omni-tool incoming message alert, and it ceased just as he blinked back into full awareness. He sighed into the pillow, content and unwilling to move from his warm cocoon, but he loaded up the new messages just the same. Maybe one would be from Kaidan confirming evening plans. That would be nice.

Blinking a few times at the screen, his brain whirred to catch up to what he saw. He was half right.  _ Some _ of the messages were from Kaidan. He scrolled up furiously to the very first message in the chain. 

‘Think he might have meant to sent this to you,’ Shepard had said, forwarding on James’ pre-nap photo to its intended recipient.

‘Crap. Sorry Shepard.’ Kaidan had replied. ‘He did look tired earlier, I’m guessing this is due to fatigue. I swear we will stop accidentally sending these photos to you.’

‘Not a problem, Kaidan. It’s shore leave for a reason. Everyone’s tired right now. Though I’m a bit confused about how it accidentally ended up with me this time.’

James winced at that last message. At least Shepard already knew about them. Might as well come clean.

‘He’s in my contacts as Sexy Ass Alenko,’ he typed. ‘I thought it was fitting. That puts you right below him in my contacts. My mistake.’ James hit the send button and began extracting himself from his blankets, even as the channel indicated Shepard was already typing a reply.

‘You and your nicknames,’ said Shepard. James imagined him rolling his eyes at the screen, ‘Still, not a bad place to be, I suppose. Do I even want to know who’s on the other side?’

‘Samantha Traynor. No nickname. She threatened to mess with my weights if I did,’ he answered honestly.

‘Ah I see. Well it’s a good thing it didn’t accidentally go to her. I don’t think she would have appreciated that.’

James had to wonder if those words meant that Shepard  _ did _ appreciate it. He frowned down at the message until his omni-tool started beeping again, this time with a  _ private _ message from Kaidan.

‘Come over,’ it said simply.

And James promptly forgot all about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the Bardiest of Bards for all the help editing this chapter.

True to Kaidan’s word, the third time was not a photo. It was a video. A  _ live _ video. 

The current mission was politics, mainly. It required some finesse, a little bit of brute force, and a lot of persuading others to grant them access to places any non-Spectre would have been barred from. Kaidan suspected the reason Shepard brought him along, and  _ only _ him, was because he was the only other person on the Normandy with the right kind of clearance. That, and at the end of the day, they trusted each other with their lives.

“You’re right,” said Shepard, starting to lean back in his chair, before deciding against it. The furniture in the safe house looked a little too well-worn to take that kind of treatment. “Addison wouldn’t have had time to contact his handlers before Cerberus took him out. We’re looking in the wrong place.”

“Well, we can follow up on the security guard tomorrow, figure out if that’s worth another look.” Kaidan extracted the guard’s profile from underneath several empty coffee cups and take-out containers of lukewarm noodles, and passed the data to Shepard’s waiting hands. “If not, we’ll have to go back to square one. Either way, I don’t think there’s anything more we can do tonight.” He looked to Shepard for confirmation. They worked well together, they always did, but he’d always had more patience for paperwork than the Commander. It would be better to call it a night now, before Shepard decided to start breaking some bones in exchange for answers. 

Shepard gave the file a last, and thankfully brief, look over before placing the datapad down on the table. “Sure,” he said, stretching out his limbs. “We can pick this up again in the morning. I’m going for a quick shower, unless you want to go first?”

“You’ll just end up working some more if you don’t stop now. You go,” Kaidan said, rolling his eyes and John quirked the corner of his mouth in a grin.

“Alright,” he said, pushing back from the table, blue eyes twinkling and the corner of his mouth lifting in a barely-there smile. “But you should stop as well. Don’t act like you’re not a workaholic too.”

Kaidan raised his hands in surrender, the datapads left abandoned, and Shepard backed across the stained floorboards in the direction of the bathroom. The safe house wasn’t the smallest, but it wasn’t large either. Their work was being conducted in the main room, where they’d also be sleeping, on fold up mattresses that had been stashed in one of the closets and smelled faintly of mould. Kaidan wrinkled his nose. The Normandy was practically luxury accommodation in comparison.

Water rattled through the pipes, and Kaidan could hear Shepard humming softly as he showered. Kaidan sat for a few minutes, details on the datapads still ticking over in his head, but he’d place money on Shepard still thinking about work in the shower, too. Workaholics indeed. His fingers twitched, wanting to just check  _ one _ more thing, when his omni-tool pinged with a short, and worryingly vague, message from James.

‘Hey, you alone?’

The Normandy had been left in good hands, but with the two most senior officers out on assignment, Kaidan couldn’t help but fret about the crew.

‘At the moment, yes,’ he replied. ‘Shepard’s in the shower right now, though he won’t be long if you need to talk to him. Everything OK?’

Instead of an answer, he got three solid beeps- an incoming video call. Frowning, he braced himself for bad news, and accepted the call.

“Jesus Christ, James!” Kaidan flailed a little at the screen. If his omni-tool hadn’t been attached to his arm, James would be staring up at Kaidan from the floor. He glanced over his shoulder towards the bathroom but the running water carried on uninterrupted, Shepard undisturbed, and Kaidan turned back to the screen.

“Kaidan, hey,” James said through the screen, chuckling low and deep at the other man’s reaction. He sat in his bunk, naked save for the snuggest pair of underwear Kaidan had ever seen. Precisely nothing was left to the imagination. 

"Uhh..." Kaidan helpfully supplied, before he blinked at the screen in rapid succession. "Is- Is everything OK? With the ship, I mean. Not calling because of any disasters?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. Nothing like that, Blue," James said, with a wicked grin spreading over his face. "What can I say, I miss you. This mission has taken you away for too long.”

“A few days is too long?” Kaidan asked, somewhat weakly, but his next words died on his tongue as James hands began to slowly roam over his torso, grazing over the sculpted muscles on display. 

“Damn right it is. And it’ll be a few more days before you’re back. And I'm alone... and you're alone... Aren't we lucky?"

Kaidan swallowed heavily as James reached up to start teasing at his nipples, and he wanted nothing more than to swat James’ hands away and take over the task. The view was very distracting. James’ fingers travelled to the elastic of his briefs and dipped under the waistband before darting elsewhere. 

"Come on, Blue, tell me." James adjusted the angle of his omni-tool and Kaidan's mouth went dry. "I know you’re thinking about it, so tell me what you would be doing if you were here?”

“I’d really rather you didn’t answer that, Kaidan. It could get awkward.”

“Shepard!” Kaidan jerked back abruptly, hitting his knee on the underside of the table with a dull thud that left several datapads rattling with the force of it, and his face immediately turned a brilliant red under the scrutiny of his Commander. His Commander who was currently shirtless. And wet. Shepard’s lower body was only covered with a short, off-white towel, old and nearly threadbare in places. Kaidan’s brain nearly short-circuited; his Commander wasn’t much more covered than James. “Crap. Sorry, Shepard,” he said, shaking himself out of it. “Didn’t hear the water turn off.”

“Water heater’s broken,” Shepard hummed. “Didn’t exactly want to stick around in the arctic temperature. Too used to my cabin, I guess. And I did say  _ quick _ shower.” Shepard smirked at James through the vidscreen. “I can go back in, though, if you’re... _ busy _." 

“Heh, no, that’s OK, Loco,” James hastily pulled his shirt back over his head and readjusted the angle of his omni-tool, hiding his lower half from view. “Sorry you had to see this again.”

“Not the first time I’ve seen a naked man James,” Shepard dismissed, moving over to a black duffel in the corner of the room and beginning to rummage through his things. “And,” he added, when he came back with a bundle of fresh clothes, amused smirk on his face, “I should probably be used to it with you two, with how often it seems to happen. Maybe I should start retaliating, teach you both to be more careful. Everytime you accidentally send me something, I’ll be sending you something straight back.”

“Well, fuck, Commander, based on what I’m seeing now, I sure as shit won’t be complaining,” James’ lewd smirk was back in place, and Kaidan groaned, embarrassed, as Vega gave Shepard’s wet torso an appreciative glance through the screen.

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself, Vega.” Shepard laughed again. A drop of water rolled down Shepard’s chest and Kaidan tracked its path, eyes roaming over the hard muscles of Shepard’s body as James gave an indignant squawk.

“What do you mean ‘not so bad’, Loco?” He gestured to himself with a wave of his hand and an expression of mock outrage on his face. “This is prime real estate right here!”

Kaidan chose to remain silent. It’s not like he hadn’t noticed Shepard was an attractive man, but right now, with the man he was not-quite-dating flirting with their very good looking Commanding Officer, and their Commanding Officer flirting right back, it was suddenly all too obvious how attractive they both were. Especially when neither of them were exactly fully dressed. He pinched the bridge of his nose to try and distract himself from their conversation, a difficult thing to do when their method of communication was the omni-tool attached to his arm. If necessary, he’d blame it on his implant. 

“I’m sure you are  _ 'prime real estate', _ Vega, but it’s hard to tell through the vidscreen. Blurry.” Shepard chuckled and averted his gaze, finally pulling a shirt over his head, and saving Kaidan from a full overload.

“Well, you’ll just have to find out some other time.”

“I’m sure I will.” Shepard hummed, the playful grin gone. Kaidan held his breath. He didn’t dare exhale into the quiet of the room, the low buzz of his omni-tool the only sound that reached his ears. James straddled the line of no return, flirty banter close to turning into something with intent and Kaidan wondered distantly if James could feel the charge in the air back on the Normandy. He wondered if Shepard could feel it, and then wondered if he hoped Shepard could.

“On that note, you guys heading back to the ship any time soon?” Purposeful or not, James sliced right through the tension with a hidden dagger, backing away from the ledge that was John Shepard. Kaidan didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed and his skin still prickled in the aftermath.

“Actually,” Shepard began, picking up one of the scattered datapads, damp fingers leaving condensation in their wake. “We might be back sooner than we thought.“

Back to business. Kaidan perked up. This he could focus on without hesitation. Shepard scrolled through the files, eyes dancing from one snippet of information to the next, hunting data like a bloodhound.

“Addison’s files were in code,” Shepard continued, handing the file over to Kaidan when he found what he was looking for, though Kaidan simply frowned down at the data, unsure. “But I think the key might be in his apartment after all. We’ll go back tomorrow, and if I’m right, we’ll be back on the Normandy by the end of the day. In fact Vega, inform Joker that we might need him here sooner than planned.”

“Yes sir, I’m on it.” James saluted, the picture of professionalism. If Kaidan hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed James sat there in just a skin-tight t-shirt and barely-there underwear.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” said Shepard, shortly before leaning into Kaidan’s space and disconnecting the call with a swipe of his hand. Despite the cold shower, Kaidan could still feel the heat radiating from Shepard’s body. The perks of being biotic. Shepard’s arm brushed past Kaidan’s when he pulled away, and as soon as he turned around, Kaidan scrubbed both hands over his face, wincing internally.

“You alright there, Major?” Shepard didn’t try to hide his amusement, and it carried through in his teasing tone. At least they could joke about it. Something to be grateful for.

“Oh, just considering the benefits of letting the ground swallow me whole, Shepard. Nothing to worry about.” He sighed and pushed away from the table, chair scraping along the floor. He was a soldier, he could soldier on. “I should go shower.”

“Uh huh, that ice cold shower is probably just what you need right now,” said Shepard, with a faux-casual lilt to his voice, and a leer that would have even caused James to blush. Kaidan sure did. He retreated down the hall without comment.

 

-

 

Shepard’s hunch paid off, and they were back on the Normandy not 24 Earth hours later, the information they recovered already in the Council's hands. James wasted no time in getting Kaidan alone, eager for some one-on-one time. 

“You’ve been away too long.” James’ hands were on Kaidan’s body as soon as the door locked behind them, pulling him closer by the fabric of his shirt.

Kaidan laughed. “It really has only been a few days.”

“Too long, Blue” James grinned.  _ "And _ I didn’t even get a sexy vidchat to keep me going through the long, lonely nights.”

“I can’t believe you did that,” Kaidan groaned, head falling against the wall with a  _ thunk. _ “And I can’t believe you were flirting with Shepard.”

“Hey, he was flirting right back. Loco gives as good as he gets. And what am I meant to do when he’s just standing there, one towel slip away from wearing nothing but his birthday suit? And wouldn’t that be a sight to see…” The smile disappeared from Vega’s face and he shrunk back from Kaidan’s embrace, eyes flicking to the floor.

“What?” Kaidan prompted. “What’s wrong?”

“I just,” James began with a sigh. “I can never tell when Shepard’s yanking my chain. You think he’s actually interested?”

“Shepard? I don’t know, he might just be flirting. No strings attached. But, if he  _ is _ interested, I don’t think he’d act on it. The work comes first.”

James hesitated.

“What if he did? Act on it, I mean.”

“Well, then I guess that depends on you.” Kaidan fumbled a little on his words, tongue tripping over itself as he spoke. “I mean, we’re not- we’ve not talked-” He sighed and tried again. “If  _ you’re _ interested in Shepard-”

“I guess. Maybe a little.” James interrupted, grinning slightly. “I’d be up for it. Would you?”

“Me?” Kaidan frowned and blinked twice, considering, as he wrapped his arms around James’s torso. “Up for being with Shepard?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d never really thought about it. He always seemed off limits. Why are you asking?”

“Well, I mean, if Shepard _ is _ interested, then it’d be the three of us, wouldn’t it?” James eyes searched Kaidan’s face, hands gliding down to rest on his waist. 

Kaidan raised his eyebrows. The question had weight and it settled on him, not uncomfortably. He and James were something. Not defined, not anything other than abstract, but the murky edges were there and beginning to take shape. He breathed out, resisting the urge to bite his lower lip. “I don’t know, he was only flirting with you, James. Maybe he’s interested, but that doesn't guarantee he’s noticed me too.”

“There’s no way he’s  _ not _ noticed how good your ass looks in that armour,” James scoffed. “No chance. He’s not blind.” Kaidan groaned and tried to hide the red flush on his cheeks by burying his face in James’ shoulder, only to be pulled closer once again. “So, would you? Be interested?”

“I- uh, I guess. Yeah. That’d be-” he cleared his throat,  _ "interesting.  _ Sure. But he’s not just Shepard. He’s our Commander. Harmless flirting is one thing, but what you’re talking about is something else. If he’s not interested we could be in serious trouble. You need to be sure.”

“Leave it to me. I’ve got an idea.”

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...


End file.
